Administrative Professionals Week originally called National Secretaries Week is a week that honors secretaries, administrative assistants and others whose job title falls under that wide umbrella.
I have shared some of this information before, but feel that it bears repeating. These tireless office workers can no longer been seen as, "just a secretary", as their duties have grown from typing letters to managing a large staff. Early on this celebratory week was established to recognize and thank secretaries for their contributions in the workplace and to help bring people back to the secretarial field. Today job titles and descriptions have been changed to better reflect what these hard working professionals do. Affectionally called "admins" by some, these individuals do everything and anything from answering the telephone to attending a meetings for executives.
In the past more often than not, secretarys were the invisible glue that held offices and sometimes businesses together. As a former admin, my job was all encompassing. I answered the telephone, set up meetings for two or twenty, reviewed and drafted contracts; and yes, I made coffee.
National Secretaries Week name has changed with the times. It was changed to Professional Secretaries Week and is now known as Administrative Professionals Week.
Former Professional Secretaries International president, Nan Nemars wrote a book titled You Want Me To Do What?, concerning workplace ethics, office dilemmas and more that administrative professionals face daily. Nemars interviewed secretaries at all levels, they opened up and shared stories that run the gamut from funny to poignant to "You want me to do what?" The book was written in 1998, but the topics are still relevent.
The movie Working Girl (1988) with Melanie Griffith as the secretary or working girl and Sigourney Weaver as the high powered Wall Street executive gives a skewed and humorous look into the world of executive and support staff relationships and office politics. Griffith's tyrannical boss is laid up at home with a broken leg, still she barks orders without regard for her secretary's private time. She has her picking up dry cleaning and more. When a big honcho mistakes the over-worked secretary as the boss, she does not correct him. We should all be aware and grateful that most bosses are not like the one seen in this funny film.
See my Work & Family Book Review of Nice Girls Don't Get the Corner Office for hints on how to make it to the executive suite the proper way.
If you are a manager don't forget to let your administrative professional know that he or she is appreciated. If you are an administrative professionals put the date in red on your bosses calendar.
Association History Founded in 1942 as the National Secretaries Association (NSA) to provide a professional network and educational resources for secretarial staff. The association's name was changed in 1998 to the International Association of Administrative Professionals (IAAP) to encompass the large number of varied administrative job titles and recognize the advancing role of administrative support staff in business and government. IAAP established the Certified Professional Secretary (CPS) program in 1951 to set recognized standards of excellence in the profession. IAAP introduced an additional advanced certification, the Certified Administrative Professional (CAP) program, in 2001. Source: IAAP. To see the full history take a look at History of IAAP
Nemars book You Want Me To Do What? is informative and sometimes humorous. As one Amazon reviewer said, "Bettie Currie, Fawn Hall, and Rosemary Woods needed this book." For pure fun rent or buy Working Girl. Keep an eye on Melanie Griffith as she transforms herself from working stiff to executive.
